KaibaCorp's Newest Addition
by Links6
Summary: Seto finally has to man up and hire a new secretary after his last secretary left. Only, this new secretary doesn't exactly conform to his usual brand of 'employee'... what's worse, he actually likes it. -Rated for Language.
1. Chapter 1

**_AN1: I do not own the themes, characters or companies mentioned in this story. It's FAN-fiction._**

**_AN2: Post-Battlecity!_**

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**KaibaCorp's newest addition**

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It's been almost a month. A month goes by very slowly when half of its spent wading through mountains of paperwork and an endless chain of emails. With several company deals waiting to be closed and his latest duel disk launch on the horizon, one member of the Kaiba family was starting to feel the stress.

After the latest secretary, Miss. Anderson, left KaibaCorp for good it all went bad. With no calls being screened or emails being filtered, communications quickly started to crumble. Kaiba wasn't exactly talkative on the phone, didn't respond to emails unless it was of the utmost importance and certainly didn't do well with dealing with the Japanese postal service.

Mokuba was quite a life-saver though. He was in senior year of highschool, but he seemed to practically live at the office for the past month. He took over calls and helped get KaibaCorp's correspondence back in action. He basically played his brother's personal assistant. He enjoyed spending time with his brother, but they both knew it couldn't carry on like that.

"Seto, maybe it's time to find a replacement…"

"I spent six years training the last one, I'd rather not waste my time like that again," Seto answered his brother and sighed as he signed _another _licencing agreement.

"You can't keep working like this, you'll burn yourself out completely," Mokuba said and gave Seto an imploring look. "You can fool anyone but me, big bro."

"If I hold an interview, will you stop bugging me about it?" Seto said and rolled his aching wrist.

"You have to at least put _some_ effort into looking for a new secretary… or assistant at least," Mokuba said and paused in his typing to look at his brother.

"Fine."

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_**And that's how, two days later… **_

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"Mr. Kaiba, your next interview is ready for you, sir."

"Whatever," Seto sighed internally. This entire recruiting deal was a disaster. So far each candidate had issues. Too loud, too nosy, no self-esteem, disorganized, too soft…

"Should I send her in, sir?" Roland said, uneasy and uncomfortable under Seto's annoyed gaze.

"I've already been through ten candidates, I don't have time to waste another five minutes on another useless brain-dead typewriting monkey," Seto snapped and flips open the resume Roland had dropped at the top of the stacked pile, "Besides, her qualifications sub-standard, not even close to comparing to the previous morons. So, no."

"Sir, they've been waiting-"

"I don't care."

Roland nodded and headed out the door to where a dozen other women and men were sitting, waiting to be interviewed for the coveted position of THE Seto Kaiba's assistant. But as soon as he entered, he could see they knew what was coming, "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen… but Mr. Kaiba has cancelled all further interviews."

A chorus of disagreement resounded through the room. Questions started but Roland simply directed everyone to the elevators. "I'm sorry. We'll contact you if anything changes…"

When Roland finally returned to the lobby, one woman was still seated there. A twenty-something, French-plait, pressed purple suit and cross-over butterfly tie. The only papers she had on her seemed to be in her hand, no briefcase or handbag.

"Excuse me, miss," Roland said and cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Yes?"

"All interviewees are dismissed for today," Roland said.

"That's good, less competition for me," she said and stood up, walked up to the KaibaCorp CEO's door and knocked twice before Roland could even speak up.

"Excuse me," she said and waited until Kaiba looked up.

"Who're you?" Seto asked, annoyed.

"I'm Clover Maki, I came for today's interview," the young woman, standing in the doorway said, a confident look on her face.

"I cancelled all interviews. Besides, I don't have time for undergraduates."

"I might not have an MBA or a secretarial degree from Harvard, but I'm the fastest typist you'll find out of all the other brain-dead typewriting monkeys… I'm smart, I don't beat around the bush, I'm efficient and I don't play well with others," she smiled and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "If you want a subordinate who'll follow your orders to the letter or a girl-Friday that'll do your laundry, then you'd better find someone else."

"I never said I wanted a maid."

Clover smirked, "Good, then we agree. I'll start off with 150 000 yen, but I'll be expecting my first raise within the fortnight."

"You don't get to make demands while you're in my company," Seto snapped, a slight look mesmerisation on his face, "You make one mistake, you're out -no questions asked."

"Done. Do we have a deal?"

"For now."

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_**A few days later...**_

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"No, Mr. Kaiba's not available at the moment. Shall I take a message?" Clover said, as easy as breathing. She doesn't even check the monitor of her laptop to check the schedule as she answered the phone.

"_Who is this?"_

"Miss. Maki, I'm Mr. Kaiba's newest secretary," she answered and never paused her Angry Birds game on her phone.

"_Where is he! Why hasn't he signed the deal yet?_"

Clover smiled to herself, "I'm not sure, Mr. Kitamura, do you want to leave him a message?"

"_Why the hell do I want to leave him a message!? I need to speak to him as soon as possible!"_

"Well, Mr. Kitamura, if you need him urgently, then I suggest you leave your message immediately."

Oh, Kaiba's in his office alright. He isn't previously occupied or even busy. He's actually just lying on the couch, trying to relax. It's Mokuba's mandatory 'Meditation Hour' that Seto apparently had to follow, because of some strange brotherly code that only the two of them are privy to. But, to Clover, that's fine and she complies with it all the same. Kaiba's been lying on the couch, just out of view, but still in earshot.

"_I'm not joking around, if he doesn't close the deal within the hour, KaibaCorp can kiss this deal goodbye!" _

"I understand. Sir, I'd just like to ask, what is your favourite flower?"

_What the hell do flowers have to do with anything?_

"Well, Mr. Kaiba would like to send a dozen of your favourites along with our deepest condolences," she said and laughed when the phone was swiftly hung up in her ear.

She shook her head in amusement and huffed, "Silly little man…". She dropped the phone on the hook and finished typing up the company memo.

"Miss. Maki?"

"Coming," she answered and forwarded the email before walking over.

"You were on the phone with Ichimura Industries…"

"Yes, sirree… " she answered chirpily, all smiles.

"They might actually cancel the deal. You know that deal will cost this company two million yen."

"Don't worry. They'll call back within the hour. Kitamura doesn't have the authority to cancel a deal like this and Ichimura Industries can't afford to lose a partnership with a powerhouse like KaibaCorp at this point. Considering your company is the only one of his deals that's in its final stages, they can't just drop everything. Especially because Ichimura Industries stock dropped by twelve points last night at ten, they can't afford to wait. The longer they wait, the greater the possibility becomes that someone will buy up their majority shares before they can secure fixed capital for their company through a deal like this."

"How did _you_ find about their stock price-drop?"

"I have an app that tracks all the shares within KaibaCorp and all the companies you trade with, and those whom you're currently negotiating with."

"I think I know the reason you didn't get into Harvard. You're a smartass…"

"I try," she smiled and looked up to the ceiling for a second, "Would you like me to switch off the lights for you before I leave? You'll sleep better."

"No, and I won't be 'meditating' for much longer," Seto grumbled and quickly called her back, "Hey, if you see Mokuba…"

"I know," Clover said and nodded, "Mokuba always enters, no matter who you're in a meeting with or what you're busy with…. I've been here for a week now, I know the drill."

"Not bad..."

She grinned.

"Not exactly good, either."

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**_Hmm... seems to be working out so far, ne?_****_  
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	2. Filing and Fretting

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Yugioh or any other themes, companies or characters mentioned in this story... let's face it, it's all made up xD_

_AN: A month since Chapter 1..._

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_**Filing and Fretting**_

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"KaibaCorp Industries, Mr. Kaiba's office," Clover answered, chirpy as always.

It's been a month since she started, and things were going well. The emails were filtered and processed, the calls were screened and the postal service was relieved to hear Seto Kaiba was no longer personally suing them. It was a well-oiled machine that seemed to run off cappuccinos and ink.

"Hi, Clover!"

"Mokuba! Let me put you through-"

"No, it's okay. He's busy right now, I just need you to give him a message from me."

And this latest development was the best of all. Mokuba went back to school full-time, now that Seto had a new assistant slash secretary. He could take part in after-school sports again and, best of all, have free time to hang out with his friends.

On the second day of Clover's arrival at KaibaCorp, Mokuba had personally interviewed her. Now, Mokuba's not exactly as business-orientated as his brother, but he was an excellent judge of character. So, Seto was kind of shocked to see the pair of them battling it out on Tekken 4 after fifteen minutes of meeting each other.

The young secretary was in charge of both Mokuba and Seto Kaiba's schedules, but she juggled it expertly. Although, one standing rule that Mokuba had introduced to the office was still in place, his brother must spend at least one hour a day relaxing… that was one rule Seto found a bit hard to keep in place and gave his assistant a little too much pleasure to enforce. Mokuba had long since picked a side for this little battle though and kept tabs on it. Usually he'd come visit the office during Seto's Meditation Hour, just to make sure.

"I won't be able to make it to the office today, we have a Board meeting," he said.

"Right… this is for the new duel disc, isn't it?" she said and quickly jotted down the notes for reference, "Are you at Mystel Graphics right now or do you need the limo?"

"You can send the limo after school," he replied and sighed, "Can you just check with Seto… they're going to be using Dreamcatcher software for the card displays and projections, but I'm not sure if it's compatible with the holographic software Seto has…"

"Alright, I'll check with him now…"

"Oh and ask him if he completed the order for the blade and if he wants the Field Trap Card slot to be magnetized or spring."

The young brunette gave a nervous laugh and finished her notes, "…I'll just pretend I understood everything you just said. But, don't worry, I'll give him the messages."

"Thanks, I need to get back to gym class. We're doing an obstacle course today," Mokuba's excited laugh sounded over the phone.

"That's awesome! Go kick some butt!"

And that was it, she hung up and quickly gathered the notes. She walked up to the office door and quickly rapped twice, "Mr. Kaiba?"

"Come in."

"Are you busy? Mokuba has a couple of questions for your new duel disc design."

He looked up from the monitor and leaned back into his chair, "Go ahead."

"First he'd like to know if your holographic projection software is compatible with Dreamcatcher. Second, did you complete the order for the blade. And third, do you want the Field Trap Card slot magnetized or spring?"

"The latest version of Dreamcatcher works best, and tell them not to bother if they're just going to convert an old version into a newer one, it completely distorts the pixel display. The blade order is done and I had it ordered as magnetized, the springs start to stick after two hundred duels."

She nodded and grabbed the papers from his outbox, "I'll send him the message right away."

"Maki, make sure to confirm each delivery," Seto said and motioned to the outbox papers in her hands.

"Will do."

_**And that's how, two hours later….**_

"I'll stop call you as soon as your boss confirms he received the notice," Clover countered airily, all the while finishing up the latest memo from the CEO to the board members.

"I already told you, he read it!" the personal assistant on the other line countered angrily.

"That's fantastic," Clover agreed, "Then he can just send a 'read report' to Mr. Kaiba's work email."

"Why the hell does he have to send a report when he already read the damn thing!? It's just to confirm the payment for the construction of the new duelling arena. Kaiba already has the receipt and everything…"

"It's company policy that everyone that has received emails from KaibaCorp must reply with a written 'read report' or confirmation. And besides, it's to confirm that you know _what _you'll be building, _where _you'll be building it and for what cost. It's just a simple assurance letter."

"Fine! Check your fax!"…. and they hung up.

"Thank you," she quipped and finally hung up too. She quickly swivelled in her chair and grabbed the latest fax. '_Dear Mr. Kaiba….. We read your_' … [colourful swearing]… '_letter and we confirm that all details therein are correct. – Motoko Engineering and Construction_'.

She quickly called them back and thanked them for their letter, hung up with a grin and filed the letter as is.

It was a good day today. Reports were filed, notices were sent and costs were cut. Glorious.

Clover Maki may not be clued up on Duel Monsters, but she loved her job and everything within it. When she took over from the last secretary of Mr. Kaiba, Miss. Anderson, everything was a mess. There were no dates, no categories, no file names or nothing. It was a swamp of nameless, dateless documents. But, a week and two all-nighters later, it was fixed... at least, the chaos of Mr. Kaiba's secretary's desk, her computer and all immediate office documents were fixed.

The meeting minutes, deals, company memos, licencing agreements and projects each had their own separate cabinets. The weekly meetings and schedules were up on the –previously unused- whiteboard. The contacts were colour-coded by regular use and their specific trades…

The only thing now left, was the filing room. A office filled from top to bottom with documents upon documents. Some as old as Gozaburo's time as CEO… and that was a long time ago.

So, the following day, when Kaiba took the jet to London for a business meeting for the week, it was Mr. Kaiba's newest secretary who decided to finally tackle it. She first sorted boxes by name, then dates. Slowly categorizing each document she came across. By day three she was ready to give up. It was like, the more she sorted through each box, the more overwhelming the disorganization became. Documents from 1966 were mixed with documents of 2000's.

"Damnit! Why the hell would they stuff duel disc manuals in with income tax statements!" Clover exclaimed and tossed the documents in their correct piles.

"It might be because Seto's last secretary wasn't much of a paper-pusher," Mokuba's voice suddenly appeared in the room.

Clover's head shot up, an awkwardly embarrassed look on her face, "Hey."

"I brought you some pizza, if you want?" he said and looked at the chaos of paperwork in the room, "It looks like you need it."

"Three days and it's just getting worse…" Clover sighed and took a bite of the cheezy pepperoni pizza. She was currently lounging on Seto's sofa with pizza box in hand. She kinda understood now why Seto chose _this _particular office furniture piece. It was velvety smooth and super plush couch … it was probably Mokuba's choice though.

"Seto doesn't like to file papers, so he just saves everything he needs on his computer. Everything else just gets thrown away," he said and shrugs. Mokuba Kaiba was presently typing away on Seto's computer, sending his brother updates about the construction of the duel disc and checking up on the stock prices.

"I did all this work for nothing?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. Seto once mentioned there's a by-law of the company, that gives the original creator or board members a chance to re-take control of his company if certain criteria are fulfilled…" Mokuba said thoughtfully and furrowed his brow in thought, "We bought the company fair and square, but we still need the original hardcopy agreements, if something like that would ever happen."

"… I'm sure your brother would've made a back-up…"

"Me too, but it's always good to have the original files on-hand."

She sighed and rolled her neck, "Well, I guess it's time to get back to work…"

"You need any help?"

"Nah," she grinned and waved the pizza slice, "I'm all fuelled up. Thanks."

"Later!"

But, a few minutes after Mokuba had left, another man stormed into the lobby. At this point, Clover had locked up Kaiba's office and was back at her desk, finishing up the savoury gift from her boss' brother.

When the man didn't even pause at her desk and simply stormed by, she quickly dropped the slice in the box and stood between him and Kaiba's office door.

"Get out of my way, I'm going to give that little punk a piece of my mind!" the unruly man growled, his glasses askew and his face red. Definitely a picturesque Hulk.

"Sir, calm down. Have a seat, do you want a cappuccino or something?" she said smoothly, motioning to the seating area in front of her desk.

"I don't want a cappuccino and I'm not going to sit down! That Kaiba brat just revoked my partnership of the company! I'm not just going to sit by and let that happen!"

"Sir, he's in a conference with clients overseas, I doubt he'd change his mind if you barge in on him now," she countered and put her hands on her hips.

"The hell with that! He thinks he can just push everyone around-"

Clover finally flipped open her phone and pressed KaibaCorp's security's speed dial number, after a second they answered, "Security, send Alex as soon as you can… there's a man at Mr. Kaiba's office who's about to break down the door, he looks very angry!" she exclaimed, a frightened expression gracing her face.

"_We're on our way!"_

The man in the office though, quickly decided that breaking down Seto Kaiba's door might not have been the best course of action. "No, no! You don't need to do that!" he exclaimed and put his hands in the air, "I'll wait…"

Clover nodded and quickly replayed the message, "He's calmed down, it's alright… yes, I'll let you know if there are any problems," she said and shot a glare towards the man.

His clenched his jaw, but said nothing.

Deciding the action was over, as well as the rest of her appetite, she started back to the filing room after washing her hands in the adjacent kitchenette.

The ex-partner, who had been sitting in the lobby reading Popular Mechanics to pass time until his boss would magically open the door, looked up, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Mr. Kaiba is still in a meeting," she said, neglecting to tell the man that _that _meeting was currently taking place in London, "Besides, It's going to be tea-time soon, I'll let him know you're here if I come back… okay?". A little mischievous smile graced her face, she loved her job so much.

She headed off to the filing room, feeling rested and ready to tackle the mountain of unsorted paperwork again, leaving the frustrated man seated in the deserted lobby.

It took him a while to realize what she'd said though, "Wait… _if_ you come back?"

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**_Thanks for reading! Please drop me a pm or review if you liked it! _**

_I love getting feedback *hearts*_

_Look out for part 3! _

_Seto Kaiba might be coming down with a migraine..._


	3. Migraines and Mergers

Disclaimer: I still don't own Yugioh or any companies in this piece of FANfiction

AN: A quick shout-out to Fragile Mercy, Sister of the Crimson Dragon, Lppurplegirl11 and a special one for Ria D'Arcy for your amazing reviews! Thank you so much! They totally made my day! *hearts*

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_**Migraines and Mergers**_

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"You're here early."

Clover looks up from her files, vision slightly cross-eyed from staying awake past thirty-six hours. "Yes, sir," she answered, having spent the past week in the filing room, and working non-stop for the part thirty-six hours in order to get it ready for when Seto Kaiba returns to headquarters... it took a toll on her.

It was just past six-thirty, but Seto looked more awake than ever. It was like that man was immune to jet lag. Or any type of lag for that matter. But, that's probably just a Kaiba-thing.

"You report," is all he said as he walked by her desk. "And clean-up this mess," he quips as he gestures to the assortment of mugs lining her desk.

She sighed and quickly gathered everything, hauling it over the kitchenette. She took time and quickly made a new pot of tea, making sure the temperature was mild enough so it could be consumed instantly. Some sugar, no milk and she was off with the mug in hand to Seto's office.

"Tea, sir?" Clover said and placed the mug on the coaster next to his keyboard.

"Did you send Ichimura Industries headquarters the closing documents?" Seto said, never taking his eyes off the monitor.

"I'll do it right now," Clover said and checked her phone's parcel tracking update before looking back at her boss, "-and, it's delivered."

"You sent it last night, didn't you?" Seto said and snorted, "Good job."

She paused for a moment before finally outing the question she'd wanted to ask a while ago, "Sir, did you revoke Mr. Kon's partnership with the company?"

"What about it?"

"He stormed into the office two days ago, demanding to see you..."

"What did you do?" he sent her an amused look, curious to know what she had said to the man.

"I told him to wait until you finished your meeting."

"I was in London yesterday."

"I never told him that you were _inside_ your office," she answered and quirked an eyebrow, "Besides, if he really wanted his job back he would've waited for you."

"No, if he really wanted his job back, he wouldn't have broken contract with my company by relaying company financials to Industrial Illusions."

"uh... wait … Pegasus' company?"

"Kon worked for a while at Industrial Illusions before creating his own private firm and partnering up with mine…"

"But why would he leak information about KC to Industrial Illusions?"

"If Pegasus gets wind of the partnership with Ichimura Industries, he might have the brains to outbuy my bid for it… which would slow down the launch of the new duel disc system and cause the company's stock price to drop."

"Oh… " was all she could say, considering the circumstance. She shuffled around uneasily for a minute, finally deciding that this wasn't a good time to tell him about the new-and-improved filing room. That conclusion was bolstered by Seto's annoyed glare.

Clover decided to rather go with plan B for now, "Mokuba's birthday's next week, did you get him a gift yet?" Clover said and dug her palmtop from her pocket.

"I got him his gift four months ago," he said and rested his chin on his hand, "Why? What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know Mokuba that well, sir. The most I've seen of him is when he drops by the office after school… " she said and smiled to herself, "He does seem really sweet though…"

"Don't get any ideas," Seto snapped and glared at her, "Mokuba's my brother."

"I know that. It was just a simple compliment," she replied tiredly and looked out the window, "I don't know him nearly well enough to buy him something of meaning."

"You don't have to psychoanalyze gifts, you know."

"… Would you like me to arrange something for him? A Party or get-together for him and his friends at Kaibaland?"

"Mokuba's would like a surprise party… arrange it at California's Park, Mokuba prefers the rides there... You better invite the geek squad and that girl with the blue hair from Mokuba's class, he seems to like her… oh, and all his classmates," Seto said and finally continued typing.

Clover couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of respect for the CEO. He _hates _working with people and hates parties even more, but, for Mokuba he'd put up with it. "And accommodation?"

"Find out from Mokuba where he'd like to stay… but do it… quietly," Seto paused. He tapped his finger on the keyboard for a moment in thought before looking up at her, "Mokuba likes cupcakes more than cake."

"I'll make the order now."

She tried to yawn as covertly as possible when she left the office, and made a mental note to get herself some caffeine tablets when she's on lunch-break. When she was finally back at her desk she slumped into the chair and rolled her neck. Being awake and working for such a time, without breaks, were taking a toll. It wasn't exactly fun.

"Miss. Maki?"

She quickly got up and stood ready by the entrance of his door, "Sir?"

"I don't want you back here after you finished planning Mokuba's party."

A cold wave of realization spilled over her. _She's been fired!?_ And all the slights of the past month ran through her. _Did I put milk in his tea? Didn't I send him updates of the duel disc manufacturers? Did someone complain about me? Did I-_

"Why are you still standing there? I said, after you finished planning Mokuba's party: go home," he repeated angrily, "You look like hell. Go sleep or… take a shower or something. I expect you back by three."

"Oh~" she gave a nervous laugh and breathed deeply.

"I'll tell you outright when I fire you one day," he reminded her sharply.

"Yes, sir."

And so, an hour later, she's at her apartment, finally resting up. Seto had arranged his chauffer to drive her back to her apartment across down. She usually just walked or hailed a cab, but she gladly accepted his offer.

She felt great to finally showering and getting dressed for sleep. It wasn't just the thought of sleep that did her good, it was knowing that _everything _was in order at KaibaCorp. The filing was dated, named, filed and stored. Perfectly in order. Nothing to worry about.

At least, she felt confident until her cellphone started to ring.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"Are you sleeping?"

"…." _Yes. _"No, sir. Not at all."

"I said, go home and sleep."

"….. yes, sir."

"Then go to sleep."

And that was it. He hung up, just like that. If she hadn't bought the phone on contract she might've just tossed it out the window right there and then. But, she just scoffed, switched off her light, climbed into bed and slowly let herself drift away in sleep.

Working for Seto Kaiba was a lot like working for… screw it. Seto Kaiba is a one-of-a-kind boss. He _can _screw the rules, he has money. Everyone else is just in awe of that.

That's why she could still climb out of bed at two o' clock, get dressed and be happy to go to work.

He may be an arrogant jerk, but he could back it up. She appreciated that.

"I thought I told you to get some sleep," he snapped as he passed her desk just a couple minutes after she'd arrived.

_Didn't he notice I wasn't here? _"I did. I was gone since eight o' clock…" she answered, checking the list of calls the office received while she was away. Sixteen in all. It was a slow day, after all.

"Really? I didn't notice," he said and paused at the door.

A comment like that might be offensive to some people, but to her, it was actually a good thing. To her it meant that her presence wasn't obstructing him in any way. It was as good as a bonus.

"Glad to hear it, sir," she said. When he didn't carry on walking, she finally looked up.

He looked sick. All the colour was drained from his face, dark circles under his eyes. The frown on his face was even more pronounced.

"Uh… sir?"

It was like his trance was broken and looked up, as if just remembering where he was. "What?"

"… Can I bring you some tea, sir?" she said, in lieu of asking 'Are you alright?'

He rubbed the back of his neck and nodded, "Yes, please."

…._PLEASE. PLEASE. _She was sure her eyeballs were about to pop out of her skull. Or maybe she was just over-tired and had started hearing things. When in the holy-holidays did he start saying '_please_'. It made her shudder to even think it. When she watched him walk slowly to his desk, slowly lower himself unto the chair, squinting at the screen and jabbing the keyboard like it just out-bid him on the rarest card on earth…

Oh.

It's just because he has a migraine, what a relief.

Clover was a sensible girl. She wasn't the type to habitually annoy her employers or intentionally irritate them, but at this point, she knew that anything she'd do at this point would cause both.

So, deciding the indirect route is more fashionable…

She headed over to the kitchenette, made some tea, grabbed a cold bottle of water and the medication Mokuba had once handed to her.

That was one kid who always looked out for his brother.

Clover finally headed over to Kaiba's office, tea tray in hand. She dropped off a couple of extra items on the couch in his office before heading over to the desk. "Kaibaland's revenue rose by three percent this quarter," Clover said and grinned as she nodded to the tv in the corner of the room, "And your annual Grand Championship is set to launch next week."

"I know."

"It's a good thing you partnered up with Mystel Graphics for this project," Clover switched off the tv and turned back to her boss, "They really pulled out all the stops to get the interface perfect for your software so quickly."

"I pay them well enough for that," he snapped and sighed, "…Don't you have someone else to terrorize?"

"I always do," she said and set the tray down on his desk, smiling at his frown. She pointed to a small saucer next to the bottle water, "Mokuba sends these for you."

"… Thanks."

She walked over to the windows and shut the blinds, switching off the lights as she walked by Seto's desk. She finally stopped at his desk and turned off all the TV and computer monitors of the room except his own, effectively turning the room to only a soft glow of afternoon sun.

"Hey, I'm not finished-"

"Won't it be more productive if you take hour off, instead of wasting time trying to re-type the same paragraph over and over because you can't concentrate? Take your 'Mandatory Mokuba Meditation' two hours earlier?"

"Right… Wait, how did you-"

"Your backspace key has a very clanky noise. You usually only use it when you're angry, so it's a little more noticeable when you hit it when you type," she said and send an imploring look to him, "And I could tell you've used it quite often in the part twenty minutes, I can hear it from my desk."

"I'm fine. I can take care of myself. You don't have to baby me."

"No, sir. I would never do that," she said and gave a small laugh, "Mokuba sent all this for you."

"... Fine."

"... Miss. Maki?"

"Yeah?"

"The file room? ... Good work."

She grinned brightly and couldn't help but blush at the compliment, "Thanks."

When she leaves he finally noticed what she'd dropped unto the couch. An ice-pack, fleece blanket and pillow.

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_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please drop me a pm or review if you liked it!**_

_Next time, a party dress and some corporate espionage!_


	4. Plans and a Party Dress

Disclaimer: ... still don't own Yugioh...

_AN: Thank you so much for my reviews for this! I loved them! They really inspired me! Super-special-awesome hugs for __Lppurplegirl11__, __Ria D'Arcy__, __Fragile Mercy__ and __Sister of the Crimson Dragon__:D _

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**Plans and a Party Dress**

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"Send them in."

Clover stood up from her desk and gestured to the door, "Mr. Kaiba's waiting for you, gentlemen. Please follow me," she said and led the Mystel Graphics producer into Kaiba's office.

It was the week of the launch, more accurately, the morning of the launch. Both the registration week of KC Grand Championship and the launch of the newest model of Duel Disc today. It's Battle City all over again. It had been a hectic week, the phone's been ringing off the hook and her boss' mood was stuck somewhere between murderous and giddy.

"Mr. Kaiba, good to see you," Tyson said with a smile, holding his hand out.

"Zachs," Kaiba nodded, but he wasn't exactly the 'handshake'-type.

But, being in damage-control mode, Seto's secretary was quick to offer the slightly-annoyed Tyson Zachs a bit of a distraction, "Something to drink? I make a killer cappuccino," she said and smiled brightly.

"Sure, thanks," the man replied with a smile before turning his attention back to the KaibaCorp CEO, "… You know why I'm here this morning."

"You want to buy in on the profits?" Seto said and glared at the man.

"… no. I want to buy Adshare… partner up with your company in advertisements."

"We worked together on one project. Don't expect me to fawn over your products when I've only dealt with one," Seto snapped and sat back in his chair, "Is that what you came out all this way to tell me?"

"… I think I'll take a rain-check on that cappuccino," Tyson said and took a deep breath, "But, please take the time to consider the offer. Mystel Graphics and KaibaCorp can change the face of the Gaming community, if we work together."

The man promptly turned on his heel and stalked out of Seto's office.

"Sir, here's your cappuccino," Clover chirped happily, mug in hand, "The cream took forever to- hey. Where's moustache-man?"

"He left," Seto said, eyes still glued to where Tyson had exited.

"He left his cappuccino… rude," Clover snapped and decided not to let a good java go to waste by promptly downing the coffee in one go.

"We have a problem," Seto said, more to himself than anyone else. His lips drew to a thin line, as he thought over his options for a moment. He then reached into his last drawer of his desk and pulled out a large black file, "Take this."

She trotted forwards and took the file from her boss.

"Here's the guest list for tonight's launch party," Seto said handed her a thick folder, each page had a photo and short biography of each guest.

"How many copies would you like?" Clover asked, quizzical look on her face.

"None. You're attending the party, you'll need to know who everyone is," Seto said and tapped the folder, "So I don't have to."

"It's not part of my job to chaperone."

"No, your job is to work as my secretary and assistant. And since my personal assistant is non-existent, you'll have to do. "

She suddenly regretted not taking time out of her schedule and hiring an additional assistant –as she's privy to- when she had the chance a couple of weeks ago, "… I have to memorize all these people?" she said and laughed nervously, "I don't have a photographic brain."

"I know, that's why I'm giving to you now," he said and held out a black bank card to her, "And buy yourself a new dress for the event tonight."

She looked down at her purple doll dress with a frown on her face, "What? The one I'm wearing isn't good enough?"

"Would I give you the card if it was?" he said with a raised eyebrow, "Now, take the damn card and buy yourself a decent dress."

"… and if I spend 10000 yen on it? How'd you feel then?" Clover retorted, knowing how her frugal boss would reply. This was the one way she KNEW would make her boss back out AND, in so doing, get her off the hook.

"Do you buy all your clothes at second-hand stores?" he quipped.

Her face dropped. She forgot she was talking to THE Seto Kaiba. Mr. I-built-a-Blue-Eyes-White-Dragon-Jet-Because-I-Can.

"Mokuba told me you'll be able to find something decent at these stores…" Seto said and held out a paper with a list of names to her, "Take the limo, go this afternoon and he'll meet you there to help you pick out something… less economical…"

Clover Maki might not be a person who's easily offended, but she was basically ready to murder him right then and there. She grabbed the card and the list of names from him, ready to toss them out the fortieth floor window when she got the chance.

"And shoes too. And, maybe get your hair done…. Or whatever it is you do…"

**_So…. That afternoon…_**

"This one?" Clover said, not exactly the most ecstatic shopper from her generation. She had her closet stocked with the stuff she found fitting, but she wasn't exactly one to shop on a whim. She was more the kind of shopper of necessity –"… This blazer has a seam tear… damn, gotta get a new one" –that kind.

Now, Seto Kaiba's a smart man, he probably took this into account and made the necessary arrangements. And THAT's why Mokuba and the Kaiba Brother's tailor, Vanessa, had joined forces to pick out a dress for the unenthusiastic-shopper-secretary-of-Seto-Kaiba. So far, no hits.

Mermaids, Ball Gowns, Slipdresses, Princess Dresses, Empire Dresses and Drape dresses… Clover Maki was one woman who never even knew there were so many types of dresses. She preferred suits, skirts and pants to dresses (or just sweatpants and a tee when she's at home), but it seemed like it was time for a style-injection of the dress-kind.

"No, no!" Mokuba said and tossed several other dresses at her, "Seto would want you to dress… you know, to impress!"

She looked down at the assortment of gown-type dresses, all frills and fuss, "Why don't you just pick me one."

"That's not the point of shopping!" he said and gestured to the fitting room, "Come on, try them on, we don't have all day!"

"… I don't even want to go, I'd rather be home watching House," she grumbled, and marched back into the fitting room.

"Too bad!" Mokuba replied cheerily, calling Vanessa closer, "Could you take this dress to her as well?"

The maid nodded, took the turquoise flair dress and walked over to the fitting room, "This one too!" and tossed the dress over the rail.

"Hey-ow! You could've removed the hanger!" Clover snapped angrily.

This was not a good day for shopping. Or, being shopped for-for that matter.

After a few minutes though-

"Tada." Clover deadpanned, emerged from the room.

"WOW~" both Vanessa and Mokuba's eyes were wide in admiration. And, just to further the moment, the tailor pair shared a well-placed high-five. Good times.

"Can we go now?"

"Nope. Hair and make-up~" Vanessa all but sang as they ventured further into the store.

And Mokuba? Well, he just has an evil grin that will make Seto proud. "I'll see you guys later, I have to check-up on the party arrangements."

A few hours later, at the party, it was all just a vague blur of eye-shadow and high-heels to the young secretary. She wasn't exactly surprised to see the billionare crowd of Japan in one place, but to be part of it?

The driver had dropped her off a few minutes earlier and told her that her boss would be there shortly. She decided to wait outside at the top of the steps, just taking in the view and appreciating the lilting classical music reverberating through the walls.

She eyed the rows upon rows of expensive cars lining the driveway, waiting for her boss to arrive. Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins… a couple of others she couldn't place. It was amazing, and intimidating too.

When Kaiba's limo finally pulled up, he climbed out of the car, dropping his laptop unto his seat. Mokuba was right behind him though, a huge grin on his face. They both were dressed up in navy tuxedo's, but it was the bow-tie that made Clover laugh.

"Nice look!"

Seto paused in his conversation with Mokuba and looked up. The faintest look of shock graced his features and he looked like he was about to crack a smile, "Maki, I was wondering if Mokuba had anything salvageable to your looks."

Her smile ceased and an unimpressed look plastered itself firmly in place, "Thanks."

"Seto!" Mokuba elbowed his brother and turned back to her, beaming with a sunshine smile, "Seto knows you look great! He's just jealous that you're going to be flirted with at the party!"

Yep. She knew just then her face was beet-red from embarrassment, and maybe just a tad from happiness.

"I expect you to be polite," he instructed when they were finally inside the elevator.

She shot a glaring look towards her boss. She had a choice noun for him on tap, oh yea, but that little comment's time will come. Soon. She was just waiting for the right opportunity.

"There's a reason why I asked you to come with me," Seto said, sticking his hands in his pockets.

She grinned, suddenly thinking it's because he was –just maybe- interested in her, "Is it because I'm gorgeous and intelligent?"

"No, Siegfried will be there. I need someone-"

"You need arm-candy?" she finished the thought for him. She sighed and readied her professional-façade again. Clover wasn't disappointed, besides, the smallest iota of a crush she _might _have for him has nothing to do with work. And now, she needs to be focused on _that. _

"-a distraction. All the backers of KaibaCorp are attending this event. Siegfried's company is trying to sway my investors."

"… you need him to be distracted so he won't steal your investor buddies?"

"… I didn't say that."

"And you don't have to. _I got your back_, _boss_!" she said with determination, and a sly smile, before finally stepping out of the elevator with her arm hooked with that of her boss's.

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_**I hope you enjoyed this chappie! Please drop me a review if you liked it!**_

On the next chapter, things start to get a bit more... interesting, for both Seto and Clover...

Espionage, traitors and a kiss ;)


	5. Espionage, Traitors and a Kiss?

AN: A super-special awesome thank you to The Starfish, Annikah, Ashlyn-i, Lppurplegirl11 , Fragile Mercy, Sister of the Crimson Dragon and Ria D'Arcy! Thank you so much for your reviews *huggles*

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**Espionage, Traitors and a Kiss?**

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Clover's not exactly easily impressed.

But this ballroom? It blew her mind.

A six meter high ceiling, crystalline chandeliers hanging and casting a rainbow prism of colours across the room. A banquet spread, lining the side of the room. Dancing couples waltzing across the floor.

"This is…" she gaped at the room, an amazed smile creeped unto her face.

"Speechless for once. I should commemorate this…" Seto said, with a smirk.

She sent him an irritated look, but looked back to the scene, quickly reminding herself of its magnificence. She glanced around, taking in a quick look of all the attendees. Investors, stockholders, employees, CEO's of other high-profile companies in Japan...

"Clover!"

The young woman craned her neck to see the receptionist of the KaibaCorp office, Emily Frankel.

"Emmy!" Clover calls back, earning a sigh and pointed look from her boss.

Oh right, BEHAVE and all that. Seto's look said it all.

"What?" Clover snapped with a frown. "It's a party…"

"Just don't end up dancing on the tables…" Seto said with an exasperated tone, "And don't forget about Siegfried."

With a quick flick of the flare of her skirt, she trots over to Emily. "Hey, how're you?"

"Kaiba's sure taken a shine to you!" Emily said with a wink, grabbing two champagnes from the tray the waiter offered. She hands one of the drinks over and grinned, "To the best job in the world."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Clover said with an awkward smile and toasted. "How long have you been here anyway?"

"Two hours, maybe?" Emily said and shrugged half-heartedly, half of the glass's contents gone. "I basically had to play babysitter for Kaiba's guests… Make sure they're happy until he arrives…"

"Isn't that the event manager's job?"

"According to Mr. Kaiba, no. But that's okay, I got free food and got served the best champagne Japan has to offer for the past two hours… " Emily grinned and adjusted her strapless black dress, "I just wish the event manager wasn't such an ass… I just maybe had to send him off on a scavenger-hunt to get Kaiba's guests one of the rarest Pinot Noir wines in the world…"

"And if he finds it?"

"He then has to courier it to the event, which will take at least an hour," Emily replied and exchanges her empty glass for a full one. "So, tell me the story about your get-up. I don't think I've seen you in anything but pants-suits and pencil-skirts since you started here."

Clover sneaked a peek down at her turquoise dress. The sweetheart neckline, the cinched-in waist… the flare of the skirt. It was practically tailored for her… then again, Vanessa does work magic with a pre-made dress and a sewing needle. It took just half-an-hour for the already beautiful dress to look like it was made to her exact measurements.

"Don't remind me…." Clover tugged half-heartedly at her flare-skirt, "A certain arrogant ass told me my clothes look like they're thrift store rejects... so, I had to buy myself something more fitting of a KaibaCorp-employee…"

She held out the bank card to Emily with a frown, "Before I forget, he told me to give this to you afterwards."

Emily smiled and tucked the card away in her purse. "Cloe, you don't know how lucky you are…"

"Yeah… I suppose he could've told me my clothes make me look like a whale or something…"

"No, I mean… the only other person he _ever _gives his company card to is Mokuba…"

Clover looked over to her boss, the smallest twinge of pride swelling in her chest. "… hey, Em, I'll uh… I'll catch you later…"

"Sure!" and without a pause, Emily quickly meandered off the side to arrange more platters to be brought out for the guests.

But, just as Clover turned back she bumped into someone. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she quickly backtracked.

"That's quite alright, I prefer bumping into beautiful women, whenever I can."

Clover looked up with a slight twinge of pink covering her cheeks… only to spot a set of dashing blue eyes and pink hair. Yep, she's bumped into the one-and-only Schroeder Corp owner, Siegfried von Schroeder.

"You're Miss. Maki, aren't you?"

"Uh… yes, and you are?" she feigned ignorance, reminding herself of her role for tonight. A distraction, that's all.

"Siegfried von Schroeder… may I call you Clover?"

"If you have to.

"You're Seto Kaiba's assistant, aren't you?"

She smiled with a non-commital shrug, "Well, for now…."

And that just seemed to steal a certain man's attention completely. "Are you looking for a new job?"

"Am always, why, are you offering?"

"Well, my company is a powerhouse in its own right…. We always need good people on our team. And I hear, things really picked up since you arrived at KC."

Look, Clover might not be a Harvard-graduate, but she knew well enough how to acquired information when she needed it. And, close to interrogation, flirtation was an effective second option. "I'm glad you noticed. It took you long enough."

"You were vying for my attention?"

"Well, KC is a good place to start. A lot of eyes are on Kaiba's stock."

"Indeed."

"Just tell me you're not going to sell out like Ichimura Industries, I don't want to land on a sinking ship again."

"No, in fact, I'm buying up Mystel Graphics for insurance," he said with a winning smile, "I recently fired my personal secretary, if you're interested in the position."

She reached forward and retrieved Siegfried's phone from his vest pocket with a wink. She punched in the numbers of her cell and held out his phone for him to take, "Call me."

"By all means," he said, took her hand in his and kissed her wrist, "It was enchanting to meet you, Clover Maki…"

Clover bit her pink-painted lip and smiled shyly. "You too," she said and ducked under his arm to make her way through the crowd again.

Once she was far enough from Siegfried's gaze her face dropped. The smile disappeared and she quickened her pace to find her boss. Her eyes swept across the sea of faces, all of them seeming to swim by at light-speed.

It took her a few minutes, sparing a few to politely provide small-talk to the known investors of KaibaCorp before finally spotting her boss on the far-side of the hall. She politely excused herself and made a point to not just sprint over to relay the information to her boss.

When she finally arrived, Kaiba made it ever-so clear that she was disrupting a very important discussion of Duel Monsters with a man with spikey purple hair.

"It's important." She insisted and bowed her head in apology to her boss's friend-type of person. It was hard to tell with Kaiba who were his friends or not. Unless he actually points it out that he's found a tolerable trait in another person, it was hard to tell if he just downright hated the other person's guts or not. Maybe they were arch-nemeses or besties. Who knew? But, that wasn't important right now.

"Kaiba, he's planning on buying out Mystel Graphics."

"Are you sure?"

"Unfortunately."

"When?" Kaiba quickly retrieved his cellphone from his pocket and started accessing KaibaCorp's database and stockshares online.

"He's buying up droves of stock as we speak. He has four of your investors swayed already… wait, what're you doing?" she frowned when he started speaking on his phone. She impatiently waited as he started talking stock-buying.

"Mokuba, Siegfried is buying up Mystel Graphics… yeah, we just need the majority shares…. Good, thanks Mokie," he said and hung up. Just like that, he grinned like the whole thing was his plan.

"You need to talk to Zachs, Dent, Spectre and Blunt as soon as possible. You need to personally need to assure them of your newest launch…. The potential profits, the improvements you made to the design and everything… I'm serious."

"They don't-"

"Kaiba, you need to talk to them," Clover snapped and discreetly jerked her head to the table where Schroeder was currently occupying, along with several other men. "Schroeder will screw you over before you know it. You have to personally go talk to your investors."

And that's when Kaiba's winner smile finally emerged. "I already have," he said and informed her that whilst she was distracting Schroeder, _he _was busy bolstering his company's investor's confidence with ready-prepared presentation in the conference room adjacent to the hall, "but it's good to know you're so serious about my company's future… you were so cozy talking to Schroeder, I was wondering if you were going to take him up on his job offer."

"Are you kidding me?!" she almost shouted, a dark purple hue erupting on her face, "You damn-well put me up to it!"

"I know."

She pursed her lips and growled, "You sent me over there…. Knowing he'd do that?"

"I just wanted to make sure," Kaiba replied, as easily as breathing. Like it didn't faze him at all.

"You're such an ass!" she snapped and stormed out of the ballroom.

"Did you have to do that?" Mokuba elbowed his brother, sending him an annoyed look.

"…. I guess not." But instead of a frown, or a guilt-ridden face, all Mokuba saw was a genuine smile.

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_Next time, a little bit more fluff and a bit more than friendship._


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